Grants for local community groups

Over £12,500 has been awarded to local groups and organisations by Melksham Town Council in the latest round of grant applications.

Amongst the organisations to benefit were The Riverside Centre, Melksham Lions, 2385 Squadron ATC, The Adventure Centre, British Cactus and Succulent Society, All Yours Period Box CIC, Celebrating Age Wiltshire, Read Easy, Sixty Plus Club, That Meeting Space, Help Counselling, Melksham Rugby Football Club and Melksham Womens’ Institute.

Councillors awarded £12,619.37 in total at the economic, planning and development meeting on Monday 20th March.

The Riverside Centre was awarded £1,000 to help the centre replace the windows that are losing heat. Chairman Chris Pickett said, “The reason for the application was because of the severity of loss of heat in the building. The building was built in 1970 and in that time, none of the windows around the side of the building have actually been replaced.

“They are very thin, with metal framework and a wooden frame that holds it all together. This has meant that the heat we have been putting into the building for community use has gone out of the building. There was an incident in January when we looked at our bills for last January 2022 and it was around about £200.

“This January it was £700. The increase in cost of electricity and gas has made a tremendous difference to that. We are looking for £8,000 to replace windows. We have been very fortunate to have been granted £4,000 by the area board, this £1,000 will help us to be able to complete the job with the money we have saved in our accounts.”

Supporting this application, cllr Saffi Rabey said, “I would like to fully support this. It is a vital piece of community space in the town. From the environmental point of view, that is absolutely the right thing to do.”

Melksham Lions Club were also successful and were awarded £708.57 to purchase a new gazebo with the Lions name and logo, to use at community events.

President of Melksham Lions Club, Phil Gaskell said, “The idea is that we can get some funding for a new gazebo with our name and logo on it, it will certainly improve our stand within the town and area. All the money that we make goes to charitable causes, we don’t keep anything back. Any administration costs that we have come from our own subscriptions. We hope the council looks favourably on this.”

Cllr Sue Mortimer said, “I think usually we don’t give to people that give to other charities, but seeing as this is not actually being passed on to something else, I think it’s perfectly fine.”

Other organisations awarded grants were: 2385 Squadron ATC who received £680.40 to pay for room hire for their annual dining-in night in the Melksham Assembly Hall on 20th May; The Adventure Centre were awarded £1,000 for improved access and storage to enable multiple users at a time; and the British Cactus and Succulent Society were awarded £350 to hire the Melksham Assembly Hall to use the facility for their annual cactus and succulent show

All Yours Period Box CIC has been awarded £240 to provide 25 period boxes to those struggling with period poverty in Melksham; Bowerhill Residents Action Groupwere awarded £350 to replace informational lecterns at the Bowerhill Picnic Area which have fallen into disrepair due to weathering over the years and from some minor acts of vandalism.

Celebrating Age Wiltshire were awarded £1,000 to start a 10-week creative art group for ages 60+ at Melksham Library; Help Counselling were awarded £338 for new chairs; Melksham Rugby Football Club were awarded £1,000 for new car park kerbstones, paving and marking; and Melksham Womens’ Institute were awarded £200 to help towards the cost of speakers.

Read Easy were awarded £500 to support local adults to improve their life chances, economic potential and wellbeing with no cost to them by providing them with resources and tailored learning, so that they can improve their literacy, self-worth and self-confidence; Sixty Plus Club were awarded £1,000 to transport members to meetings; That Meeting Space were awarded £800 to continue to support, facilitate and help establish groups within the community, so that they are able to flourish, grow and ultimately be self-sustaining.

The objective of Melksham Town Council’s Grants’ Scheme is to support and encourage a diverse range of community and youth activities, initiatives and events that meet the needs of the residents of Melksham.

The only organisation councillors agreed not to award a grant to was Chippenham Kick Boxing, who were asking for a hall hire grant, as the organisation operates outside of Melksham.

For more information about grant applications and the deadlines for this year, contact Melksham Town Council on 01225 704 187.

Pictured: Melksham Lions received funding for a new gazebo.